GOP Mayor Laurence Keller has no opposition for that seat in the May 17 primary.
By: Linda Seida
New Hope Mayor Laurence Keller faces no Republican challenger in the May 17 primary, but two Democratic challengers are squaring off for the chance to unseat him in November.
In the Democratic mayoral race, ceramic artist Elaine Daniels is going up against Frederick Viskovich.
Ms. Daniels serves on the board of directors of Bucks Villa, a group residence in New Hope for people with HIV/AIDS. She also serves on the borough’s Revitalization Committee and is a member of New Hope Arts, Partners in Progress, known as PIP, and the New Hope Historical Society.
"The key issues for me would be the density problem for the town and the effort to bring the commercial community, the art community and the community itself together so that we can all work to keep New Hope great," Ms. Daniels said. "The bottom line is not the only thing to consider when we all live in such close proximity with each other."
She added, "This town has a long and illustrious history of culture and art, and the mix is what people come back time and time again to enjoy. The effort to make parking easier (and more abundant), the aim of having little open areas at the river edge so that visitors and the community can enjoy at close range the beauty that we all have at our fingertips on an everyday basis. This is a special place to live. (I) just want to keep its diversity and beauty and spirit close at hand."
Mr. Viskovich did not return phone calls seeking comment for this article.
Mayor Keller is wrapping up his second four-year term. He serves on the Historical Review Board and the Planning Commission and is treasurer of the New Hope Chamber of Commerce.
He said he sees several main issues facing the borough.
First is "finishing the public water project; the last well site has to be built and hooked in to the existing infrastructure, which is now near completion."
Also, he added among the issues, "completing the pumping station east of the PNC Bank building."
The public water project first was proposed in 1938 but was heavily opposed and faced heavy opposition over the years. The $6 million project is slated for completion this spring after suffering major setbacks, including an explosion and fire in February when a house was razed.
According to Mayor Keller, also important to the small town’s welfare is a solution for the insufficient number of parking spaces.
"This is a perpetual problem, which New Hope will always be facing," Mayor Keller said. "We must make a better use of the American Legion lot on the south end of town on weekdays, which will enable the workforce to have a place to park without hindering the visitors to the town."
Also in the May 17 primary, four Democratic candidates for New Hope Borough Council face no opposition. Sharyn Keiser, council vice president, is seeking re-election along with incumbent councilmen Randy Flager and Ed Duffy. Also running is Claire Shaw.
Dr. Shaw, a dentist, is vice president of the borough’s Shade Tree Commission. She is also a member of the New Hope Historical Society and the Friends of the Delaware Canal.
Ms. Keiser is employed as a training manager for Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development. She is chairwoman of the Revitalization Committee. She also is a founding member of Partners in Progress and is a past president of the organization. She served on the Planning Commission from 1996 to 1999. She is completing her second term on council.
Mr. Duffy is completing his first four-year term on council. He is the council liaison to the planning, zoning and historical review boards.
Mr. Flager, 53, is an attorney. He was heavily involved in crafting the borough’s gay rights ordinance. He is council liaison to the Zoning Board.
All the council candidates remarked on how special they feel New Hope is and the things they would like to do to preserve the quality of life for its citizens.
"New Hope is a special place to live," Mr. Duffy said. "I am a 26-year resident of New Hope. Every day I think how lucky I am to have discovered the town, the people and the culture."
He said he is committed to "ensuring that New Hope remains a special place for all of us to live."
The council needs to continue to keep costs down and hold the line on taxes, Mr. Duffy said.
"My two core issues and New Hope’s challenge going forward will not change," he said.
These issues are "controlling borough cost and minimizing or reducing property taxes. The two obviously relate. The residents of New Hope have my commitment to provide efficient borough services at the most efficient cost.
"Approaching senior citizen status myself and understanding the challenges of residents on fixed budgets, I will continue to work closely with my Borough Council and borough management team to find every opportunity to reduce or minimize the cost of providing New Hope borough services."
He noted the council’s past success in these areas.
"We have successfully controlled cost and lowered borough taxes two consecutive years," Mr. Duffy said. "We intend to continue operational cost containment efforts. Our 2006 goal is to make it the third consecutive year of lowering taxes. We are looking to offset borough projects that would use borough tax money with federal/state grant funding. To date, we have been very successful with grant funding."
Ms. Keiser said maintaining the town’s historical integrity is an important issue that needs to be addressed.
If re-elected, she would concentrate on "maintaining the historic integrity of the town along with the arts and quaintness while assuring a fabulous quality of life for residents and business owners, keeping the small town qualities that make this town so near and dear to all who live, work and visit New Hope."
To that end, Ms. Keiser said she would "continue to represent my constituents by listening to their input on matters concerning their town and following through to make these come to fruition. I will continue working with the Revitalization Committee to obtain grants so that we can continue being the jewel of Bucks County and the wonderful place to live, work and visit. I will never take the gift of living in New Hope for granted."
Mr. Flager, too, pointed to the town’s uniqueness and the teamwork he has seen unfold over the years.
"We’ve cut down on the rancor and gotten so much accomplished," he said.
He noted that, years ago, when much infighting occurred among past board members, it was difficult to hire professional staff because no one wanted to work in such an atmosphere.
"It was considered a bad place," he said.
The perception has changed, he pointed out with pride.
In addition to maintaining productivity, competence and confidence, Mr. Flager said he is looking forward to seeing the water project completed and maintaining fiscal responsibility to keep costs and taxes down.
Dr. Shaw, too, noted several quality of life issues.
"Density and development are always a threat to a community, and ours is no different," she said. "Council must remain acutely aware of this threat and continue to minimize developmental demise of our town. I am against converting every residential or commercial space into condominiums or townhouses and in favor of maximizing borough property for the good of the community.
"We should explore a preservation program for New Hope; buying back properties and preserving them because of historic value or for the creation of green spaces."
In addition, she said, she would like to address several tourism and residential problems.
"The issues that tourism brings, such as parking and noise pollution, continue to be challenging for New Hope," she said. "We are a small town with big traffic problems, and although we’ve all come to accept the fact that we just don’t go into town on a weekend, there must be a solution. I would be willing to explore viable options to mitigate this problem.
"I would like to see our residents granted permit-parking privileges for use in the borough Monday through Thursday. This move could foster addition financial support for our business community and give our nonwalking residents a chance to enjoy town."
In Solebury, Michael Kennerley is running unopposed on the GOP ticket for one open seat on the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Kennerley did not return a questionnaire.